Winter Wellness Program

“Winter Wellness Program”

WINTER WELLNESS – Our Principal, Susan Carr, lays out some guidelines to staying well this winter.

Winter Wellness – Are you sick of being sick?
Winter is now here and fortunately for us it has started off very mildly! That said, are you one of the many people, for whom a string of colds and flu is a way of life in winter? Perhaps getting rid of the seemingly endless sniffles, sneezing and sore throats seems like an unachievable ideal. Fortunately, it is possible to improve your immune system function and reduce the frequency and severity of those nasty winter lurgies with a bit of awareness and some simple strategies. Disease causing viruses or bacteria can enter your body simply by breathing or eating! Fortunately, only a few of these, particularly viral, ‘pathogens’ result in a cold or flu because you are equipped with an immune system specifically designed to fight off unwanted invaders.

Prevention beats cure every time!
If you are stressed out, unfit, run down and/or consuming a nutritionally poor diet, you are likely contributing to the demise of your immune systems defenses and setting yourself up to succumb to one of the viruses floating around. Therefore, preparing your immune system to withstand this winter’s lurgies begins with a few simple foundational strategies:

Adopt some simple Winter Wellness strategies….. • Reduce stress – being stressed reduces immune system function, so make sure you incorporate regular time-out, meditation, yoga and/or ‘green’ time, such as walking outdoors amongst nature or along the ocean front to breathe in those so needed ‘energy boosting’ negative ions!• Enjoy regular exercise – remaining active reduces the stress levels and increases your feel good hormones, Vitamin D our sunshine vitamin is also a very important vitamin with regard to your immune system and your mood. A daily burst of sunshine 20 minutes a day will help assist with this. Unfortunately, if you are an office worker and do not see much sunshine then we do have very good Vitamin D supplementation to help with this. Having a low Vitamin D level is detrimental to how you feel. At Centro Health we have a facility to test your levels and we can advise you if they are low and offer a support and a restoration protocol.• Sleep – aim for 7 to 8 hours each night to restore energy and increase resilience.• Eat your vegies (and fruits!) – at least three cups of fresh vegetables and/or salad, plus two serves of fresh fruit every day! Fill your plate with a rainbow of colour to ensure an abundance of essential nutrients and antioxidants that will help support a healthy immune system.• Regularly wash your hands – a simple organic antibacterial handwash now readily available in most supermarkets and warm water helps reduce cross-contamination with unwell people.• Being prepared is the best strategy for Winter Wellness – Nevertheless realistically it may be difficult to achieve everything you are ‘meant’ to do, which is where your Naturopathic Practitioner can help. With access to natural medicines such as high strength Vit C and zinc, immune-boosting medicinal mushrooms include cordyceps, coriolus, shiitake and reishi. Individually, each species of mushroom has demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in immune enhancement, to help resolve chronic, and/or recurrent infectious conditions. What’s more, this combination of mushrooms provides symptomatic relief of upper respiratory tract infections, including reducing mucus congestion. Immune balancing herbs Echinacea, Astragalus and Andrographis to support your WBC’s (white blood cells). The advantage of natural medicine is that it is not just to treat illness, but improve your own natural immune defences.

Healthy gut – healthy immune system!
Did you know that approximately 70% of your immune system is located in your digestive system? This emphasises how important it is to also look after your gut health. Many people are aware that certain probiotics can support digestion, but did you know there are specific probiotics that support a healthy immune system? The beneficial strains, Lactobacillus plantarum HEAL 9, Lactobacillus paracasei 8700:2 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG®) all help enhance immune system function, making this combination a valuable aid to winter wellness. As a healthy immune system is supported by the right microbial balance in your gut, speak to your Naturopathic Practitioner about which probiotic combination is the most appropriate, to help overcome your immune system concerns. We have specific probiotics to support infants, children and adults.

No need to hibernate
There’s no need to experience ongoing or recurrent illness this winter, or hide away at home on the couch. Start by modifying what needs to change in your diet and lifestyle, and put specific strategies to help support a healthy and resilient immune system into place and avoid any winter lurgies!
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